“To me, a long-time admirer of this author, it is a treat to share her with the children. I recommend this book very highly indeed.” -- CM Archive, A Reviewing Journal of Canadian Materials for Young People

ean Little’s most recent book, The Sweetest one of all, is a picture book for very young children and their parents. In it, barnyard animal babies ask their mothers who they are and each of them is told that he or she is the sweetest one of all. The book ends with a human mother telling her little one the same thing. And getting a loving hug in response. The playful text should continue to delight both children and adults even after many readings.

The colourful illustrations by Marisol Sarrazin are endearing and filled with lively detail. Each will hold small readers spellbound.

Jean Little

J

ean Little is recognized throughout Canada and the United States for her candid and unsentimental portrayals of adolescent life. Once a teacher of handicapped children, Little herself is only partially sighted, and she uses much of her real-life experience as the basis for her books.

It seems young Elspet Mary has known nothing but loss. First her mother died, then her father, leaving her in the care if her aunt and uncle. With them, she has moved from one lonely Scottish village to another, and now, just as she is beginning to feel at home, she is being torn away again, to move to rugged Upper Canada. What awaits her in the strange new land? What will become of her grandmother, left behind in Scotland, and her beloved cat? Will she finally find a place to call home, a place where she belongs? Told in Jean Little’s inimitable voice, this moving coming-of-age story explores loss, loneliness and love-and the universal search for a place to belong.